''Polar Similar'' is the seventh studio album by American

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use ...

band Norma Jean. The album was released on September 9, 2016 through

Solid State Records Solid State Records is a Christian metalcore record label, an imprint of Tooth & Nail Records. Unlike Tooth & Nail, Solid State signs hardcore punk and heavy metal bands. Like Tooth & Nail, Solid State is primarily a Christian label. However, ...

, the band's first release on the label since 2008's ''

The Anti Mother ''The Anti Mother'' (sometimes referred to as ''Norma Jean vs. The Anti Mother'') is the fourth studio album by American metalcore band Norma Jean. It is the first release to feature new drummer Chris Raines, making Chris Day and Scottie Henry th ...

''. This is Norma Jean's only release with guitarist Phillip Farris and the last with bassist John Finnegan and drummer Clayton Holyoak. With the departure of guitarist Chris Day in 2015, ''Polar Similar'' is the first Norma Jean album to not feature any original members.

Recording and production

The album was recorded in January 2016 at

Pachyderm Studios Pachyderm Recording Studio is a residential music recording studio located in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, United States, 35.8 mi (57.6 km) southeast of Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport. It is located in a secluded old-growt ...

Cannon Falls, Minnesota Cannon Falls is a city in Goodhue County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 4,083 at the 2010 census. Located along U.S. Route 52, southeast of the Twin Cities, Cannon Falls is the home of Pachyderm Studio, where many famous musicia ...

, where artists such as

Nirvana ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lamp Richard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo. ...

Failure Failure is the state or condition of not meeting a desirable or intended objective, and may be viewed as the opposite of success. The criteria for failure depends on context, and may be relative to a particular observer or belief system. One ...

P.J. Harvey Polly Jean Harvey (born 9 October 1969) is an English singer, songwriter, and musician. Primarily known as a vocalist and guitarist, she is also proficient with a wide range of instruments. Harvey began her career in 1988 when she joined loca ...

, and

Explosions in the Sky Explosions in the Sky is an American post-rock band from Texas. The quartet originally played under the name Breaker Morant, then changed to the current name in 1999. The band has garnered popularity beyond the post-rock scene for their elabora ...

have recorded albums. The album was produced by Josh Barber and the band. The title of the song "Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else" is a tribute to

Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was an English musician. He was the founder, lead singer, bassist and primary songwriter of the rock band Motörhead, of which he w ...

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a prec ...

, while the song itself is about an abusive relationship that vocalist Cory Brandan Putman was in.

Release

"1,000,000 Watts" was the first song to be released from the album, premiering on June 14, 2016. The song caused some minor controversy in the Christian music scene upon its release as the song contains the line "''I'm not fucking around''." The album was released on September 9 through

, the band's first release on the label since 2008's ''

''. Four days later, on September 13, a music video was released for the song "Everyone Talking Over Everyone Else." The video, directed by Anthony Altamura, shows the band performing the song in a dimly lit room along with footage of people in abusive relationships.

Track listing

Personnel

Norma Jean *

Cory Brandan Cory Brandan Putman is an American singer who has been the lead vocalist for the metalcore band Norma Jean since 2004. Career Brandan is a former member of bands Eso-Charis, Living Sacrifice, The Handshake Murders, and Uses Fire, and a cur ...

– vocals, guitar * Jeff Hickey – guitar * Phillip Farris – guitar * John Finnegan – bass * Clayton Holyoak – drums, auxiliary percussion Additional personnel * Josh Holyoak – Sound design, keyboards, ambient sounds, and additional percussion throughout the album. Production at the end of track 13 * Adam Putman – additional percussion, piano and organ on tracks 4 and 13, background vocals on track 8 * Ben "Bob" Turkovic – additional percussion, engineering *

Sean Ingram Sean Ingram (born September 11, 1975) is an American musician and entrepreneur, best known as the frontman for the mathcore band Coalesce. He contributed all the lyrics and most of the artwork and packaging for his band. After several years as a ...

– additional vocals on track 3 * Josh Barber – production, additional guitars on tracks 1 and 2 * Norma Jean – production * Josh Barber – engineering * Jeremy S.H. Griffith – mixing * Drew Lavyne – mastering

References

{{Authority control 2016 albums Norma Jean (band) albums Solid State Records albums